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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298138">Seven Seconds in Heaven</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoopPenny/pseuds/CoopPenny'>CoopPenny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, Die Hard References, Drinking, Ear Piercings, F/M, Falling In Love, Fights, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Non-Consensual Kissing, Surprise Kissing, Unrequited Love, mafia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:00:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298138</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoopPenny/pseuds/CoopPenny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times that Jake was spontaneously kissed.</p><p>And one time that he did the spontaneous kissing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Doug Judy/Jake Peralta, Jake Peralta/Adrian Pimento, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Derek, Jake Peralta/Original Female Character(s), Jake Peralta/Stevie Schillens</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Seven Seconds in Heaven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1) Derek</p><p>It was another job well done and Jake couldn’t help but feel a bit odd at how seamlessly he slipped into the role of ‘villainy’. Tony had asked him to hustle some guy for a cut of the money he’d neglected to give to Tony - the guy was a drug dealer so Jake didn’t feel so bad about threatening him. Derek had, once again, been paired with Jake for the job, standing in as the silent ‘extra muscle’ while Jake talked down to the dealer, using his interrogation techniques to get the guy to stew. It helped Jake get into his role of ‘interrogator’ when he knew that this was just a warning to the dealer, instead of an actual hustle. Jake’s first hustle had not been fun…</p><p>While Derek was silent and intimidating at ‘work’, he was a nice guy to Jake, and he kind of reminded Jake of a Terry-Rosa mix - Jake didn’t know if that made him scarier or not. Despite the (maybe) scary comparison, Derek was decent to Jake and they got along well, especially after a few drinks were in them. The Mafia henchman was a standard back-up, he had short, dark hair that reminded Jake of a military cut, Italian descent, slightly taller than Jake and definitely wider, with impressive biceps that were just shy of being the same size as Terry’s own. What was most startling about Derek, and what Jake found himself most fascinated by, were his eyes: one was a bright blue that combatted the colour of the ocean and the sky at the same time; the other eye was a forest green. It was the coolest feature about the henchman by far and Jake often found himself commenting on the man’s eyes when they’d had a few too many to drink.</p><p>The hustle had gone well and the man had forked over the money owed, Jake giving it to Derek as he counted the cash while Jake stared down the dealer with dead eyes (a new technique that he’d learned from Derek, apparently ‘dead eyes’ made people think that they were about to kill them) waiting patiently for the man to finish. Derek handled the money as he was an older and more trusted member of the mafia than Jake was, which was just fine with the ex-cop, who was mildly enjoying the way the dealer squirmed under his gaze (yeah, he was definitely using the ‘dead eyes’ in the interrogation room when he got back from being undercover).</p><p>“All good,” Derek nodded, his deep voice and slight Italian accent sounding nice to Jake’s ears - the man would be a good auditor if he wasn’t a terrifying mafia henchman.</p><p>Jake simply nodded, eyes still dead as he gave one last look to the dealer, a silent warning, before moving to leave the room, Derek giving the dealer a silent look as well, before following suit. They were silent as they made it out of the building and when they got in the car, Jake in the driver’s seat while Derek sat in the passenger. When they got around the block, completely out of sight from the dealer’s place, Jake broke out into a wide grin as he looked over at Derek, brown eyes bright and proud, “I think that was my best one yet!” Jake practically chirped, feeling chuff at how easily he’d intimidated the dealer. Usually, the people they visited were not threatened by Jake, his stature too small, his arms too full of lean muscle, instead of bulky, his face too open and boyish, which was the main reason why Derek was placed with him most of the time.</p><p>Glancing over, Jake caught Derek roll his eyes, but there was a small curl to his lips to show that he was actually amused, “Yeah, he was definitely scared of you. God knows why, though.” he teased and Jake gasped out a scandalous sound, momentarily taking one of his hands from the wheel to cover his injured heart.</p><p>“How dare you?” Jake questioned snootily, “I am very scary, for your information.”</p><p>“Not when you look like a backup dancer for High School Musical,” Derek chuckled, the sound loud and deep enough for Jake to nearly feel it in his bones.</p><p>Again, Jake looked at him with mock offence. Honestly, Jake didn’t like the new look either, but Ethan’s wife had practically forced him into the outfit and he didn’t want to find out what she could do with those long fake nails, that looked more like talons if he were to make up upset. The moral of the story was, Jake was a pushover and found himself dowsed in too-strong cologne and wearing tracksuit bottoms more than his beloved jeans. It was not his fault.</p><p>“Okay, one,” Jake started, an amused smile wobbling at his mouth, “That doesn’t offend me at all. Those dance moves look awesome. And two, you practically just admitted to knowing about and watching at least one High School Musical movie,” Jake grinned wider at Derek’s vaguely dismayed expression, “Oh! Busted!” he cheered, laughing and he only laughed harder when Derek lightly punched him in the arm, “Hey! You can’t hit the driver! That’s, like, the first rule in the driving manual.”</p><p>Derek rolled his eyes once again, but it was clear as day that he was trying to resist the amusement that shined brightly in his eyes, “You know, you basically admitted to watching those stupid movies as well, right?”</p><p>“Yes,” Jake grinned, without even a pause, “But I have no shame. You on the other hand…” the ex-cop trailed off suggestively, laughing when he got another light punch to his shoulder, "Who was your favourite character? Oh my god, I bet you were a Gabriella fan!” he accused with a laugh.</p><p>“Ha, ha, ha,” the larger man stated drily and Jake merely smirked at him.</p><p>The rest of the ride was short and filled with a comfortable silence. They dropped off the money and both were commended for a job-well-done, getting a cut each for their service, before they turned to leave.</p><p>“Wanna hit the bar tonight?” Derek questioned when they left Tony’s building. It wasn’t like the man had to ask, he and Jake always went out for a drink after a completed job, whether it had gone well or not. It was like a little tradition between the two of them.</p><p>“Of course!” Jake grinned, more than ready to feel the buzz of alcohol in his system after such a successful day.</p><p>Hours later, they were both in their regular drinking joint that was run by one of the mafia members, Benny, pleasantly buzzed and the night grew rowdier as the alcohol continued to flow. While Benny’s place was a high-class restaurant in the early hours of the night, it soon became a smashing party with loud music, terrible dancing and Joelling - so much Joelling. It was a fun place and Jake was quickly seen as a regular there, which got him even more connections as most of the mafia seemed to eat there as well.</p><p>Both Derek and Jake had been talking for hours, laughing and trashing one another with their odd sense of humour that no one else could quite get the hang of. It was clear to anyone around them that Jake was closer to Derek than he was to anyone else, despite the fact that he was a little social butterfly and chatted with everyone, winning people over with his odd charm and a crooked smile that seemed to fit right in with the mafia crowd (it was a little disturbing how easily Jake fell into the crowd, but his FBI handlers were very happy about his integration, nonetheless).</p><p>“Hey!” Derek suddenly shouted in Jake’s ear, making the drunk former detective startle, “We should get our ears pierced!” he shouted and for some reason, Jake’s drunk addled mind thought that this was a great idea.</p><p>“Derek, you’re a genius!” he shouted back as he looked squarely at Derek with a drunkenly awed expression.</p><p>Half an hour later, both Derek and Jake were stumbling out of the tattoo and piercing parlour, Jake’s left ear lobe stinging from being stabbed, a diamond stud shining from it, while Derek had a diamond stud earring in his left ear helix. Come morning, Jake knew that he’d whine about the pain of his ear and horrified at the fact that he got a piercing, but he was too drunk to care at the moment. Both Derek and Jake were clinging to one another as they walked, aiming for Derek’s apartment, which was closer than Jake’s, laughing and snarking at one another.</p><p>Then, from one lazy drunken blink to the next, Derek had leaned in and captured Jake’s lips between his own, the contact soft and unsure. But, when Jake didn’t pull away in disgust, Derek’s kiss became harder and more passionate. Jake’s drunk mind quickly catching up to what was happening and he instantly threw himself into the kiss, grabbing the man’s broad shoulders as he shifted closer, turning passionate on both sides. Then, Jake seemed to snap out of it, drunk mind suddenly alert to the fact that he was kissing a criminal, he was kissing someone who thought they knew Jake when he was lying. It wasn’t fair on Derek and Jake didn’t want to be the asshole that leads the man on, only to shatter his feelings when everything came to light…</p><p>Jake pushed the larger man away, regret shining in his brown eyes as he looked up at Derek. The man before him straightened, seeming to know what Jake was silently communicating and just nodded, a small flash of sadness in his eyes before his expression turned harder, “Let’s just forget this, yeah?”</p><p>For a few moments, Jake stared up at the man, silently admiring how the man had taken to being rejected. Jake stared until Derek’s eyes looked down into his own again and from the look in his mismatched eyes alone, Jake knew that there would be no hard feelings between them. Silently relieved, Jake tilted his head innocently, “Forget what?”</p><p>Derek just chuckled and they both continued to wobble back to his place, the henchman’s worn sofa calling to Jake.</p><p>As they walked in the dark together, Jake couldn’t help but think about how much he’d wanted Derek and how he would have gone all the way with Derek, if his conscience hadn’t gotten in the way. A straight guy would not normally be wanting and thinking those things…</p><p>Maybe he was gay? Or, at least, a little bit…</p><hr/><p> </p><p>2) Stevie Schillens</p><p>A sense of guilt came over Jake as he looked at Stevie from across the 99’s bullpen, watching as he laughed and joked with his fellow officers. The area was stuffed full of police officers due to the fact that the 99 and the 98 cops were all jam-packed together. Jake felt a twist in his heart as he looked at Stevie laughing and he wished that the 98 was never stationed with them, then he wouldn’t have to deal with this emotional crap! Stevie was Jake’s friend, and Jake didn’t have many of them, surprisingly, and he damn well hoped that Charles was wrong.</p><p>After a few moments of watching, Jake felt the stirrings of doubt in his chest: did Charles really see nothing in that dishwasher, or was he too overcome with jealousy over Stevie being Jake’s friend? But when he looked over to Charles’ desk, watching for a few seconds as the diligent man tapped away on his computer, stopping only to write some things down, eyes narrowing with concentration as he filled out some report or another… Charles was a good cop and he never could have missed those drugs if they had been there.</p><p>Rubbing his forehead, Jake just wished that he didn’t have to ask if Stevie was dirty. He was a nice guy and a very good friend. Jake couldn’t remember the amounts of times that Stevie had been the willing shoulder to lean on when Jake hit a brick wall as a beat-cop or screwed up. One memory, in particular, came into mind, when Jake had been younger standing at gun-point and frozen with shock as he watched the perp’s eyes darkening with the inner decision he’d just made, finger pressing down on the trigger as if it were in slow motion… Next thing Jake knew, a shot rang out, temporarily deafening him, and he was on the floor, Stevie’s young, concerned face hovering over his own as he yelled in Jake’s face, trying to get a positive reaction from his partner other than shock-wide eyed staring. The perp had been apprehended at the same time that Stevie had tackled Jake by another officer: Stevie had saved Jake’s life and it had been a hell of a life-shattering principle to have to deal with. Sure, when they signed up for the job, they knew their jobs, they knew the risks, but in their minds, it was more the prospect of saving people and being the hero, not the fact that they could die at any given moment ‘cause someone bad wanted to getaway.</p><p>Jake owed Stevie a lot, it’s that experience that got Jake where he was today. But, maybe that same experience had changed Stevie’s sense of justice as well? While Jake had been changed to be more thorough, to be more on guard and crack the case before anyone else got killed, Stevie had taken that lesson to mean that he needed to get the bad guys before they did their ‘bad thing’ and stopping innocents from being killed by the scumbags… It was scarily easy to slip into being a dirty cop, from taking money in a tough situation, to being too eager to put the bad guy away.</p><p>Resolve hardened, Jake looked over to Stevie again, slightly surprised when the other’s eyes were already on his form, which was leaned against the opposite wall of the bullpen, arms crossed and frown set deeply into his features. He forced his face to relax when he caught Stevie’s eyes, letting it fall into a cheeky smile, the man returning it before Jake gestured his head for his friend to follow. Well, if he was going to question Stevie about planting the drugs, he sure as hell was going to save-face and question him in private - reputation was everything to a cop rising in the ranks.</p><p>Obviously confused, the man shrugged and followed Jake, letting Jake silently lead them both down the less crowded hall of the precinct and opened the door to the small and desolate storage room that was only really big enough for one person’s use.</p><p>“Uh, this is cosy.” Stevie looked around the small space as much as he could, obviously confused as to why they were there in the first place. He then turned to look down at Jake, and the fact that Stevie was a few inches taller than him was more noticeable than ever as they stood mere feet apart, so close to one another that their breathes almost mingled.</p><p>Jake rolled his eyes at the comment, more frustrated than ever that the 9-8 had taken over his precinct. “Well, the precinct is so crowded, this is the only place no one can-“ then, before Jake could finish his sentence, Stevie suddenly placed his hands around Jake, one on his jaw and the other on the back of his head. Then, all too soon, Jake saw Stevie lean forward and connect their lips, gentle and full of feeling on Stevie’s part as Jake just stood there in shock, not quite knowing what to do as he froze, staring with wide eyes.</p><p>Then, as fast as the kiss started, it was finished as Stevie drew back, a wince already on his features as he looked into Jake’s shocked expression, but the look in Stevie’s dark eyes told Jake that he’d been wanting to do that for a while.</p><p>“And…” Jake sputtered out, mouth temporarily on autopilot, “How long have you felt this way?”</p><p>Stevie wince once again, looking a bit more regretful as he pulled back from Jake as much as he could, “A while, but I can tell you don’t feel the same…” he sighed regretfully, “Sorry, Jakey. Can we just - forget about this? Pretend it didn’t happen?”</p><p>Jake opened his mouth to protest, not wanting to disregard his old friend’s feelings just because he didn’t return them - it had been a good kiss if a bit of a surprising one. But then Jake thought at the matter at hand and his face hardened with resolve and a hint of regret in his dark brown eyes. There was no way he could talk to Stevie about ‘feelings’ and then question him about planting drugs. That just wasn’t cool. It was best to forget about it and concentrate on being a good cop, no matter how much it pained him to be...</p><p>“Listen…”</p><p>What occurred after was a bit chaotic and fun (don’t tell Captain Holt) and even Terry got involved - before he acted like the innocent party in the whole thing. But the 9-8 got moved out to a different precinct and they got Stevie with a confession. Jake went by the interrogation room, which was where they were holding him instead of the holding cell with other criminals…</p><p>Jake couldn’t help the pain in his chest at seeing his old friend, chained to the table like a criminal - but that was because he was a criminal. Jake hung his head, wondering if this would discredit some of Stevie’s arrests, wondering how many people were going to get out of jail because Stevie planted something or didn’t fill out an arrest properly in order to get the criminal… Distantly, Jake wondered that if he and Stevie stayed together, would Jake be crooked, or would Stevie be on the straight and narrow with him?</p><p>“Sorry, Stevie…” Jake finally breathed out, crossing his arms over his chest uncomfortably. Honestly, Jake wasn’t sure what he was saying sorry for, but it felt right in that moment.</p><p>In response, Stevie’s miserable expression cracked into a small, soft smile, hurt and understanding shining in his eyes, “It’s fine, Jakey,” then he broke out into a larger grin, “At least we’ll always have the storage closet.”</p><p>Unable to resist, Jake barked out a laugh, eyes shining with humour but still sad when he looked at his old partner, “Yeah,” he agreed, “We’ll always have the storage closet…”</p><hr/><p> </p><p>3) Doug Judy</p><p>Today had not been a great day, to say the least. First, his alarm didn’t go off so he was late to work, which meant that he was promptly chewed out by Captain Holt in the middle of the precinct. Then, he accidentally bumped into Terry while he was talking to Charles in the kitchen, resulting in the Sarge’s once-a-week-teat full-fat-greek yoghurt to be dropped to the floor, further resulting in Terry yelling at him. Then, one of his arrests bounced back due to a misplacement of evidence. Then, finally, when he went to drive home, his car packed out on him and had to be picked up by a tow and fixed, which would cost him way more than the car’s actually worth, resulting in Jake in walking home, alone, in the dark night of New York… God! Garfield should hate Wednesdays, instead of Mondays! Wednesdays were just sucky!</p><p>Walking in the dark didn’t really help Jake’s paranoia. As much as he liked to brag about how badass he was, there was just something creepy about walking home, alone, at night, and knowing that you're a cop with no backup. It was stupid, but he’d been on edge about being a cop in the dark when he’d heard the story of a co-worker (now, deceased from an unrelated incident) who had been walking, just like Jake, and was made by a criminal that he’d arrested a year prior; he was then beaten within an inch of his life by said criminal and his friends and was committed to a hospital for several months. That was an extreme case, but he’d seen the report to know that it wasn’t just some stupid, made-up story what was to make new baby cops warier.</p><p>Hands buried deep into his pockets, Jake ducked his head a little more and quickened his steps as he passed by a few poorly-lit alleyways, more than ready to be home and snuggling deep into his blankets. But not before testing Charles that he came home safely, the man had nearly driven Jake home himself, but it was out of Charles’ way to do so and while Jake likes to reap the benefits of some situations, he didn’t want to inconvenience his friend when Jake knew that Charles was just as tired from the day as Jake was.</p><p>Just as he was about to pass another alleyway, someone came out from within, swinging right around the corner and colliding into Jake. Startled, Jake nearly fell over from the abrupt appearance but was saved when the large, hooded man steadied him with surprisingly strong arms around his biceps. Relived as to not get a sore toosh-toosh on top of his very bad, not good day.</p><p>“Hey, you aligh’ man?” Jake’s saviour asked, just as Jake was about to go on a triad about how the man had saved him from kissing the pavement, only to freeze and for his eyes shoot up to the face of his saviour when he recognised that haunting suave voice.</p><p>“Judy!” Jake exclaimed in the said man’s face, Doug’s eyes seemed to widen comically as he finally realised who he’d just ran into.</p><p>“Peralta!” he shouted back and then seemed to recover from his own surprise as he shoved Jake away with the intent for the Detective to fall to the floor.</p><p>Thankfully, Jake managed to catch himself, only stumbling a little, but it still gave the Pontiac Bandit a few seconds ahead of him. Instantly, Jake felt himself go into cop mode, all fear taking a back-seater of his emotions as he let his adrenalin and desire to catch the bad guy take over. Swiftly, he turned around and bolted after his perp, who he could hear, his footsteps echoing in the dark alley as he tried to escape.</p><p>Jake breathed deeply as he ran, eyes focused, arms moving perfectly with his body to push his performance, and pumped his legs as they slammed loudly against the cracked pavement, his sneakers helping him rush over the uneven ground more than professional shoes ever could. Sprinting after Judy in the dark, it didn’t take Jake long to catch up to the man, the detective being far more physically healthy than the criminal he was chasing.</p><p>As soon as Jake got within reaching distance of the Bandit, Jake’s ‘cop mode’ seemed to turn off and a manic expression stretched upon his face as he pushed himself off the ground, shouting a triumphant “AH HA!” before he tackled his multiple-year-obsession to the ground, both of them hitting the pavement with a little grunt. What took place after was a small struggle as Jake tried to force the man below him into an arrest hold, but Judy was stronger than most people, despite not looking it, and was valiantly resisting Jake’s hold.</p><p>“Doug Judy,” Jake tried to hiss out, but his joy in finally taking down his nemesis, and the intimidating hiss sounded like a dramatic choke of his name, “You are under arrest. You have the right to remain- whoa!”</p><p>Suddenly, Doug was beginning to struggle more and they started to roll across the ally floor, collecting dirt and street-alley fluids on both of their jackets as they went, struggling one another for power. In his last attempt to gain the upper hand, Jake planted his foot to turn Judy on his back again, when his foot slipped in a patch of loose gravel, making Jake lose any chance of taking Judy down. In seconds, Jake was on his back with Judy’s weight on top of him, his nemesis smirking down at him as Jake glared up.</p><p>“Bye, Peralta,” the Bandit gave a cheeky wave and grin before he moved to dart away from the detective and into the dark.</p><p>Before the criminal could get a foot under himself, Jake latched into his hoodie like a koala to a tree, knuckles white with his determination as to not let Doug Judy get away. This man would not slip through Jake’s fingers again! Jake had him dead to rights! And when he brought Doug Judy, the Pontiac Bandit in, the whole precinct will cheer and chant his name and all the late nights and humiliating losses will be worth it!</p><p>“Oh, you’re not getting away that easy!” Jake declared as he dragged Judy closer, not wanting the man to get any more vantage to pull away and break free, “I’m taking you-“</p><p>Out of nowhere, Doug Judy surged forward, his own large hands wrapped in the collar of Jake’s jacket, and before Jake could make a single noise of protest, Doug Judy’s lips were on his own. The shock had Jake’s mouth going slack, which seemed to be a mistake, because there was suddenly a tongue in his mouth and Jake quickly melted into the kiss, tentatively responding back without conscious thought.</p><p>Before Jake knew it, Judy had retreated with a face-splitting grin and gave a cheeky wink to the dazed and shocked detective and then stood up and dashed away with a departing, “See ya soon, Jakey!” leaving Jake, alone, on the floor of an alleyway and his face getting hotter and hotter as he realised what had just taken place.</p><p>“Oh my god…” the detractive groaned in defeat, covering his face with his hands as he tried to block out what had just happened.</p><p>With a sigh, Jake got up from the yucky floor and started to head home once again, he didn’t even bother trying to find the criminal again, knowing that the man had most definitely gotten away in the time that Jake had been trying to mentally block out what had just happened. Tomorrow, he would make a log on the sighting of Doug Judy and give a full report of the incident with Holt. For a second, Jake considered leaving out the part where Judy kissed him and Jake was completely taken off guard, but then he knew that Holt would somehow find out about it somehow and decided it wasn’t worth the risk.</p><p>Sighing, Jake walked out of the alleyway and blushed deeply over the kiss…</p><p>Man, he needed to get laid!</p><hr/><p> </p><p>4) Adrian Pimento</p><p>Having Pimento back on the force was an odd ordeal for everyone. Instantly, he seemed to fall into their little inner circle that they’d created as Detectives, but at the same time, he didn’t fit at all. Jake knew that the reason for Pimento’s struggle was due to the wariness of some of the squad and the fact that the man clearly had trauma that he wasn’t willing to deal with. Adrian was the furthest thing from normal, but Jake could see what once was good cop under the wild look of someone who suffered from severe insomnia, and Jake could see the mental struggle the man was going through, eyeing the way his hands twitched for his gun at every too-loud noise, as if he wanted desperately to protect himself, as if he didn’t feel safe, despite coming home again.</p><p>To be honest, Jake couldn’t help but admire the man, not just for his awesome experience that was a twelve-year undercover mission, but for the fact that he was able to actually do it, keeping away from his friends and family in order to keep them safe. If Jake had to cut contact with his mum, he didn’t think he’d be able to go through with it at all. The prospect of ‘undercover’ had always fascinated and excited Jake, but seeing Pimento, he was forced to face the reality that going undercover would never always be good times and role-play.</p><p>Nonetheless, Jake was determined to have Pimento on their squad for a long time and so requested to work on as many cases as he could with the man, without Charles getting jealous.</p><p>Currently, both of them were on the street, watching and stalking in the semi-darkness of the night, as they followed their perp to a meet up with an original illegal drug source. As they deftly followed the oblivious man, Jake couldn’t help but admire how Pimento fell into the role, his face blank with concentration and his eyes looking less haunted as he focused on the task at hand and not anything from his past. It was amazing and also completely unsurprising that Pimento was so good as slinking among the shadows, one didn’t do twelve years undercover with Jimmy Figgus without learning how to be sneaky enough to be almost undetectable.</p><p>They watched as the perp stopped at a particular gate, pausing and then turning to look around. Jake felt his eyes widen as the man turned. They weren’t hidden! They were out in the open, right in the middle of moving to another shadowy space in order to spy on him. If he saw them, the whole operation was blown!</p><p>However, before he could have the rest of his internal meltdown, Pimento grabbed Jake and shoved him against a graffiti-covered brick wall, the broken bricks subtly digging into his leather-clad back. Before Jake could comment in any kind of confusion, Pimento’s mouth was on his own and as the man roughly pulled the back of his hair, Jake had no choice but to open his mouth and reciprocate. Kissing a man with a beard as thick and long as Pimento’s was an… odd experience. The beard scratched roughly at Jake’s baby-smooth chin as Pimento lead the ferocious make-out session and Jake could feel the man’s wildness in his forceful kiss, which was all tongue, teeth and harsh hair-tugging. Jake couldn’t help but make a soft, surprised noise when Pimento’s knee suddenly found itself between Jake’s own, adding to the heat of the kiss.</p><p>Then, as fast as it had started, it ended and Pimento had his radio out as he called for backup.</p><p>The bust was successful and Jake managed to tackle and cuff a runaway, even in his still dazed state.</p><p>All too soon, the operation was packed away and both Jake and Pimento were walking into the bullpen, making their way to their own desks to write up the report. Pimento seemed completely unaffected by what he’d done, walking into the precinct like he didn’t just give Jake the most intense make-out session of his life.</p><p>“Hey!” said detective called, pulling Jake from his thoughts as he blinked and turned to pay attention to the man, “That was some good kiss, man!” he grinned and Jake had to fight away the blush from his pale cheeks when he literally felt the whole precinct stop and stare at him at that moment.</p><p>Coughing awkwardly, Jake nodded, “Thanks… Why did you do that?”</p><p>“Oh,” Adrian blinked at Jake as if he was confused why Jake hadn’t figured out the reasoning, “Well, the guy was clearly about to make us. If we just stood there, it would have been obvious that we were following him. Public displays of affection makes people awkward, so they tend to look away when they see it.” he shrugged and Jake had to pause and think, not quite believing that what had left Adrian’s mouth had actually made perfect, logical sense. It was a unique and impressively fast solution.</p><p>Jake found himself nodding, “Okay, makes sense. Just warn me, next time,” he gave the man a pointed look and Pimento laughed and nodded.</p><p>“Oh, a next time?” Gina called out tauntingly, a coy smirk curling suggestively at her lips, “That kiss stir something in ya, Jake?”</p><p>Before embarrassment and stubborn denial could take over, Jake smirked back at Gina and walked to Pimento to casually place his hand on, the other Detective seeming to catch on to Jake’s play as he sneaked an arm to rest on his waist. The precinct seemed to be in even more shock at the display, Jake barely holding onto his laughter when he saw Holt’s climbing eyebrows. His own coy smile on his lips, Jake started in a deeply serious tone, “Yes, Gina, I have been converted and Adrian was the one to do so. But, while our love and passion for one another was intense and burning hot as the flames of Olympus - that’s right, I know Greek things - it died all too soon, as I will forever, at heart, be a vanilla boy,” he then turned to Pimento, serious expressions on both their faces as their amusement shined brightly in their eyes, “Sorry, Adrian, but our love just wasn’t meant to last.”</p><p>“I understand,” the man nodded, acting remorseful, “Call me up if you ever want a one-night stand of hardcore sex, partner,” he clapped Jake on the arm.</p><p>“Will do,” Jake grinned and returned Adrian’s clasp.</p><p>Then, they turned from one another and walking to their desks, as if nothing happened. The noise came back as people moved on from the odd display, but Jake couldn’t suppress the shaking of his shoulders in silent laughter when he heard Terry mutter, “What the hell just happened?” in a completely lost voice.</p><p>When Jake looked up, his eyes connected with Holt’s knowing dark gaze, but he didn’t seem annoyed or anything, just slightly amused if the small curl of his lip was anything to go by. Teasingly, Jake sent a wink and the Captain huffed, shook his head and returned to his office.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>5) Jane Doe</p><p>The music was thumping through his chest and Jake wondered at the last time he actually went clubbing. Distantly, he remembers that it was before his academy days that he was in a club, laughing and drunk off his ass as he jumped around to the music with no defined form that could actually be called dancing. Now that he was older and cared about his job more than his free time, Jake found the club distasteful. It was too loud, the flashes of random coloured lights annoyed him and the number of bodies jumping around him had him jostling from side to side.</p><p>How the Captain expected him to be able to spot drug deal with this going on around him, was completely stupid. Was this punishment for something random that Jake had done? Though he didn’t know what it would be, Jake Peralta was a Delight, with a capital ‘D’.</p><p>Nonetheless, he fell into the role of ‘fellow partier’ quite easily, jumping around with the rest in a vague rhythm to the music that beat through his chest like an irregular second heartbeat, which was a concerning notion that he forced himself to forget about. Jake cried out to the music, pretending that he enjoyed the unidentifiable music, copying those around him as to keep his cover, all while keeping a beady eye out for any drug dealings on the dance floor. It was harder to do than one would think, especially with all the blaring distractions that were going off around him constantly.</p><p>Just as he was looking around again, randomly dancing, he was suddenly seized by the shoulder and forcefully turned around. He turned willingly, not bothering to fight the hold as it could be a hostile that Jake may have to deal with, and was surprised when a woman stood before him. The girl was pretty with honey blonde curls that bounced when she did, skin tanned and unblemished, from what he could see in the atrocious light, her too-short dress a dark wine red and so skin-tight, it left nothing to the imagination. She was a very beautiful girl and also probably very drunk if the way she was smiling wide and dopily at him was any indication.</p><p>Smiling politely, Jake leaned in to shout in her ear, to tell her that maybe she should get some water, find her friends and go home, but before he could even begin to talk, she leaned in the rest of the way and connected their mouths. The young woman seemed to take advantage of the fact that his mouth had been open to talk to her, sloppily shoving her tongue in his mouth in a terrible and drunken attempt at a heated kiss.</p><p>This woman was very drunk.</p><p>Instantly, Jake pulled back and broke the kiss, gently placing his hands on her shoulders when she nearly stumbled forward in an attempt to follow after him. He tried to talk to her again, when she slipped something into his hand and shouted a slurred, “Call me!” before dancing away towards a group of girls, who seemed to have been watching the two the entire time, cheering their friend when she rejoined the crowd.</p><p>However, Jake didn’t have time to dwell on it as he saw something in the corner of his eyes. Swiftly turning to pay attention, Jake saw a small package and money being exchanged - a deal. The perp in sight, Jake went to chase the dealer down, the kiss was forgotten and the scrap piece of paper with her number on it drifted to the floor as he unknowingly dropped it.</p><hr/><p> </p><p>+1) Jake Peralta</p><p>Jake and Amy had been going out for a few months now and Jake still couldn’t help the feeling of his heart exploding in happiness whenever he thought about the fact that he was going out with Amy Santiago, the girl he’d been pining over for a few years now, the girl that he never thought he’d have a chance with. The relationship was smooth going and it shocked Jake when he found himself learning new things about Amy that he had never been privy to before, and vice versa. Honestly, for Jake, this had been the most comfortable relationship he’d ever been in. Between them, there had been no awkward phase and as they started to slowly evolve around one another, it felt… normal.</p><p>From time to time, Jake couldn’t help but think about how seamlessly they worked together and annoyed by the fact that they hadn’t gotten together when they first met, those years when they had been co-workers, friends and nothing more felt wasted in the face of their relationship now. Though, if they’d skipped over the whole friendship thing, maybe they wouldn’t have the same chemistry as they did right now. It wasn’t something anyone could easily answer, but Jake often found himself dwelling about if he’d gotten his head out his ass sooner and actually asked her out earlier.</p><p>Both of them were at his place, sat in his worn sofa, curled up in one another’s arms with the lights turned down low, a bowl of sweet popcorn between them as the movie played in front of them. It was movie night and they were watching Die Hard, of course, watching eagerly as John McClain threw a body out the high-rise window to land on Powle’s car. This must have been the fourth time that Jake had watched this movie with Amy and she still didn’t protest when he put it on.</p><p>Despite the fact that his favourite movie was playing, Jake found his eyes tracking to Amy more and more, just watching with a small smile on his face as she silently mouthed some of the lines in time to the movie, slowly chewing a piece of popcorn as she stared, transfixed by the action-packed events on the TV. His eyes went over her, taking in the makeup-less face, which did nothing to downgrade her beauty, her usually strictly tied-up hair was down, the dark strands pooling over her shoulders, the baggy t-shirt that she’d borrowed from the back of his wardrobe and claimed at her own, old tattered tracksuit bottoms, and bare, chilled feet tucked mercilessly into the warmth of his leg.</p><p>She looked perfect and Jake couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that this was the first time that he’d paid more attention to the girl he was with than the Die Hard movie he’d put on. It was a huge deal and it was a realisation that both excited and scared the hell out of him.</p><p>Jake watched her for a little bit longer, smiling warmly when she mouthed along to more of the words, fingers twitching against his own in anticipation, despite knowing exactly what was about to happen next. Amy was everything he had hoped her to be and more…</p><p>A warm sensation contorted in his chest and it felt like his heart was expanding as he just looked at her, and he suddenly realised, with the impact of a runaway train, he was slowly but surely falling in love with Amy Santiago.</p><p>Unable to stop himself anymore, Jake tentatively touched her chin with his fingers, smiling when confused brown eyes turned to him, and without a word, Jake leant in and kissed her. The kiss was slow and sweet as Jake tried to put all of his feelings into it, feelings that he couldn’t quite name. The feelings he felt seemed to mount when he felt Amy kissing him back, her perfect, soft, rose-petal lips reacting to his own. Soon, the sweetness of the kiss melted away and passion slowly started to take over, Jake gently pulling Amy towards himself, wanting her closer than she already was now.</p><p>Then, Amy’s need for control seemed to shine through as she took charge of the kiss, climbing on top of Jake so that his back now fully reclined on the sofa. The kisses between them became fierce and needy, showing one another just how much they wanted this, wanted to be together. Jake felt like his and Amy’s souls were sliding and fitting together in the same rhythm of their kiss - he had never felt as happy and complete as he did at that moment…</p><p>Their kissing soon delved into something more intimate and the movie played along in the background, completely unnoticed by both of them.</p><p>At that moment, Jake knew that Amy was the one, for any girl that could capture his attention more than Die Hard was a girl worth marrying.</p>
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